Mar 2, 2008

We're Not All Like Dubya: A NY Map for Texas Independence Day

Not all Texans are like the former governor of Texas who currently serves as President of the United States (324 days left, and counting). I have to explain this difference when I meet some New Yorkers and they find out where I'm from. I, for one, prefer to think that the Texas Man, if we're talking gender, is better represented by Robert Rauschenberg, Freddy Fender, Terry Allen, Luis Jimenez, Tommy Lee Jones, Willie Nelson, Bill Moyers, Buddy Holly, Kinky Friedman, Tommy Tune, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Rip Torn, and Alvin Ailey than by Dubya. Call it Texas pride. I, as Texas Woman, like to think that I follow in the kick-ass traditions of Ann Richards, Barbara Jordan and Molly Ivins, women who made some horse sense of politics.

Today is March 2, Texas Independence Day, the day to commemorate the adoption of the Texas Declaration of Independence on March 2, 1836 in the town of Washington-on-the-Brazos. Here I am in New York City. Three Texas cities are in the top ten U.S. cities by population - Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas. That's an important fact, because it's not like all Texans wake up to look out on a vast plain of nothingness. I have to explain this, too. Many people have that image from watching movies.

View Larger MapAnyway, here's a map of some Texas "points of light" on the island of Manhattan. Most of the places on this map are bbq restaurants I like or ones recommended by friends. I threw in some corny places here, such as places to buy western wear and cowboy boots.

Let me tell you an amusing story. I sometimes dress like Johnny Cash, but so do many New Yorkers. One day, while I was living in South Carolina, I decided that I needed more black shirts of the western sort. I went into a vintage clothing store and found nine black western shirts. When I took them up to the cash register, the owner of the store and a friend of mine looked at me and said, "You do not need nine shirts that all basically look the same." So, she picked out three shirts and made me put the others back.

I don't know if I'll do anything in particular for Texas Independence Day, but I know for a fact that many flag-waving native Texans in the Big Apple will at some point today gravitate to Hill Country.

4 comments:

Brava! You did our state proud! I cited your post today in my Independence Day blogging. If you're ever in Austin, let me know. I'll buy you a beer. In addition to sharing a love of Texas and dismay at how Dubya reflects on our state, we like many of the same movies and musicians.